How I Met Your Father {three}

Feel free to go back and read part one and part two to get all caught up.

In the fall of 2000, both Ian and I headed off to college...3.5 hours apart. It was the first time either of us were away from home. I can remember us hatching our genius plan of getting the same mobile carrier so we could have unlimited mobile to mobile while apart. And let me tell you, we sure as heck used it. To this day, Ian doesn't like talking on the phone and he said it is because of that year. 

Moving away from home and each other really brings up things in a relationship. To date, this was the hardest year we have ever had. We had to learn to live life separately, yet together. We had to learn to trust explicitly. And when we didn't like things and wanted change, the doors were slammed in our faces. We had to learn to live with disappointment.  

I went to a christian school where boys weren't allowed in the dorm rooms. This was such a pain in the butt for long distance relationships. Ian and I would take turns visiting each other. When he came to see me, we went and stayed at my aunt and uncle's, which was about half an hour from my school. When I would go visit Ian, I would stay in a room with two girl's on his hall...who would have their boyfriends in there as well. Yes, at one point there were FIVE of us sleeping in one small as all get out dorm room, all because I wanted to be "good" and not shack it up with my man. 

As I said, that year came with its ups and its downs. One of those downs came in the form of a girl named Lauren. And if that Lauren ever happens on my blog, all I have to say is NOT COOL LAUREN. NOT COOL. But back to the story...Lauren met Ian during freshman orientation and proceeded to throw herself at him the entire year. It was sad. It was pathetic. It pissed me off. The girl even met me numerous times and still did it. When Ian refused to hug her, she showed up at his dorm room crying to him about it. Really Lauren?! REALLY!? But in all honesty, it really showed me how dedicated Ian was to me. And it certainly built up trust in our relationship. 

Some of the ups of that year came because we were away from home. We could go exploring. We could stay up all night. We could do whatever we wanted when we were together. We would go on hikes. We would go for coffee. We would go to the beach. We would go on drives. We would watch movies. We just had fun. It was fun not having anyone around telling you when you needed to be home (sorry parents!). Aww, the life of an 18 year old! 

The hard part was when we would both be home for the holidays. Our families wanted just as much attention from us as we wanted to give to each other. But also, a lot of our times off didn't line up with each other, which kind of sucked. 

Pretty quickly after going to different schools, we realized it wasn't smart. I started trying to transfer to Ian's school. And I was denied. I can remember the heartbreak. But it also helped me make some decisions. Rather than wasting copious amounts of money at a private school (which I really did love, by the way) when I really wanted to be with my boyfriend, I decided at the end of the year to pack it up and head home.

And that summer of 2001 held adventure for us. My first family vacay with the Grimbleby's.